Of Sunrise and Stories
by Crisis Rose
Summary: Set weeks after 'Keep Holding On.' Eric has recovered, but Ariel, through a simple and innocent desire to see all her new world had to offer, seems to be suffering from a similar issue.
With her arms crossed in front of her and her chin rested upon her forearms, sixteen year old Ariel gazed out across the Kingdom that had been her home for the past two months. It had become something of a regularity for her, to come up to this far eastern tower to watch the sunrise; though during the summer months she often found herself drifting back to sleep due to the earliness of the sunrise , sometimes missing it all together. And sometimes, grey clouds would cover the sky before the sun even had a chance to rise, making the reason for her waking so early pointless. But this didn't stop the former mermaid from trying, for sunrise above the waves was more beautiful than anything she had ever seen and not something that she felt she would ever grow tired of seeing. Ariel much preferred sunrise to sunset, she always had, though it was a preference that had been magnified since her encounter with Ursula. Sunrise always filled her with such hope, the beginning of a day that she had yet to fulfil, hours stretching ahead of her that would certainly bring her happiness; whereas sunset marked the end of a day and meant that she must wait a whole evening before seeing Eric again.

On this particular morning in mid-June, the former mermaid sat with heavy eyelids her head tilted atop her crossed forearms. The sky was painted with streaks of orange and pink, the bird song making its way from the trees and the rooftops to where the Princess could enjoy it, the sweet melody acting almost as a lullaby, leaving her fighting to stay awake.

Not for the first time she found herself wishing that Eric were her to share the sunrise with her, but ruling over a Kingdom took a lot out of her Prince, and she respected the fact that he needed to sleep as long as he could. This was something she had discovered only weeks ago, when her waking him each morning and caused him to collapse from sheer exhaustion; since then she had made sure to let him wake of his own accord, no matter how desperately she wanted to be with him.

To the east of the Kingdom were great sloping green hills, so the first rays of the sun hit the east tower before spreading slowly downwards, the warm light blanketing the entire Kingdom, though very few people were awake early enough to enjoy it at this time of the year. The farmers seemed the only other people up at this hour, their day beginning long before anyone else's, and Ariel wondered how they managed to wake so early _every_ morning and start working straight away.

Averting her eyes away from the rising sun as it peeked over the hilltops, the young Princess let her gaze drop to the courtyard, below and to the right of her, where maids were scurrying from their quarters on the ground floor to the laundry room and back again, piles of clothes and linen in their arms. Although, Ariel didn't watch them for long, for her eyelids grew heavier still, and within only a minute the former mermaid had fallen asleep, her head rested upon the windowsill and the morning sun illuminating her porcelain skin.

* * *

Eric awoke a few hours later, the sun having climbed high enough for its reflective rays to have bounced off the waves and into his west-facing bedchamber. Within an hour the young Prince had washed, dressed and was making his way down to the dining room with a spring in his step, for he was certain that he was both the happiest and luckiest man in the world. His life had settled down for the first time in as long as he could remember, and he was able to share it with a woman who filled every second of his day with happiness and joy. If there ever was a woman more perfect for him then he knew her not. He'd felt better recently than he had in months, something that showed in his work, as he had been able to keep on top of everything and therefore spend the majority of his days with Ariel, whom he hoped to one day make his wife.

Upon entering the dining room, the eighteen year old was surprised to see that his beloved wasn't sat at the table waiting as she usually was, the former mermaid liking to make the most of each and every day.

"Good morning dear!"

Eric turned to his left, and easy smile taking over his features as Carlotta entered from the kitchen, glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice in each hand, setting them down at his and Ariel's places at the table.

"Morning!" replied Eric, taking a seat at the head of the table and flashing Grimsby a smile as he entered with the mornings newspaper and sat to the Prince's right.

"Lottie," said Eric as the housemaid re-entered with a selection of fruits, breads and cheeses, "you haven't seen Ariel have you?"

"Not this morning dear, no, I'll go and see if she's awake." And with that, after placing breakfast upon the table, Carlotta scurried from the room, smiling all the while. Ever since the arrival of Ariel the maid had noticed such a positive change in Eric, the young man seeming so much surer of himself that he had been growing up.

Upon reaching the Princesses room, Carlotta gave a gentle tap on the door.

"Ariel, dear, are you awake?" she called out softly, not wanting to wake the young woman if in fact she was still sleeping. When no answer came she opened to door just a crack and peered into the room, fully expecting to see Ariel tucked up in bed and dreaming; so, it was no wonder that the sight which greeted her caused the maids eyes to widen slightly, for there was no sign of Ariel at all save for the creases of the pillows and mattress. Stepping into the room, Carlotta checked her walk-in closet and en-suite bathroom, but it soon became apparent that she simply wasn't there.

Wondering where on earth the Princess might be, Carlotta made her way back down to the dining hall, scanning the barbicans and th beach on her way down but still finding no indication as to where the sixteen-year-old might be. Her eyes locked with Eric's as soon as she re-entered the room where Eric and Grimsby were sat waiting with breakfast in front of them, and one shake of her head was enough to spark panic within the young Prince.

"Well she can't have just disappeared!" he exclaimed, standing up, "are you sure she wasn't there?"

"Positive dear, but I wouldn't worry, she probably just gone off exploring and lost track of time, I'm sure she'll show up."

The look in Eric's eyes remained sceptical, and she could almost hear the cogs whirring in his head as he thought about what to do next.

"I'm going to go and look for her" he resolved, passing Carlotta and heading towards the door.

Although she knew that there was no changing his mind now, for if ever there was any doubt surrounding Ariel's safety or her whereabouts he would search to the ends of the earth, she hated to think that he was getting worked up over this when surely there was nothing to worry about.

"Eric," she said, placing a comforting hand on his arm as he passed her, "don't worry yourself, I'm sure she's fine."

Eric offered her a half-hearted smile in return, deep down knowing that Carlotta was right, but wanting nonetheless to find his beloved anyway just to make sure. He had a habit of always picturing the worst case scenario in any given situation, and that certainly wasn't helping at the moment.

"Would you mind checking this floor?" he asked.

Carlotta nodded, and headed off to look for the lost Princess. Moments later Grimsby offered to check the upper floors, leaving Eric to search around outside and in the outbuildings. Not for the first time he thought of how lucky he was to have Carlotta and Grimsby as parental figures, and wondered whether he could ever have been nearly as happy had he actually been raised by his biological parents.

* * *

Ariel awoke around three hours later, thoroughly confused as to why she found herself sat in the eastern tower overlooking the Kingdom. Stretching her slender arms high above her head and yawning, the Princess began to recall the beauty of that morning's sunrise, that of course being the reason that the was here. It had surely been one of the most beautiful that she had ever seen, and caught up in her desire to tell Eric about it, she rose quickly to her feet. A mistake, it seemed. Her head swam in circles, her vision blurring until she could barely see a thing; she staggered back and put her hand to the wall, trying to focus and not succumb to the overwhelming dizziness.

Minutes later the feeling of vertigo passed, though the former mermaid was left feeling incredibly lethargic, and though she no longer felt as though her head were spinning, there was still a general feeling of unsteadiness, as she made sure to tread carefully as she descended the stairs of the tower, regretting her choice of where to watch the sunrise for the spiral staircase seemed to go on forever.

When she did reach the bottom however, the sight that greeted her was a peculiar one. The maids and guards that she had been able to see crossing the courtyard had all stopped, and were now staring in her direction. She felt a light blush creep up her cheeks at being the centre of attention, wondering why everybody seemed so shocked to see her. Had she done something wrong?

"There you are dear!"

Ariel lifted her head at the sound of a familiar voice to see Carlotta rushing towards her.

"Where have you been, Eric's been looking everywh… oh, never mind, as long as you're alright. Shall we get you some breakfast, I don't suppose you've had any this morning?"

Carlotta flashed Ariel a look that she'd grown accustomed to seeing, one of gentle reprimand, though more scepticism than annoyance.

"Actually, I'm not really very hungry; but, do you know where Eric is?" replied Ariel, the dizziness from earlier having not completely diminished and leaving her with very little appetite. All she really wanted was to spend the rest of the day with Eric, how could she have been so stupid as to sleep away so many hours that could have been spent with him?

Carlotta agreed to let her see Eric first, so long as she had just a small amount of breakfast afterwards, and so Ariel agreed, for nothing could have prevented her from wanting to see her Prince. She tried her best to ignore the dizziness as she walked alongside Carlotta, but she couldn't help but wonder whether this is how Eric had felt some weeks ago when he had been so tired. Ariel couldn't deny that, currently, she too was overwhelmed by a similar exhaustion, but she wouldn't allow herself to sleep any more than she had already, she simply couldn't, there was so much to do and to learn, yet so few hours in which to do it, she needed to be awake for as many of them as she could.

Finding Eric wasn't a difficult task despite the size of the palace; he was stood at the foot of the stairs, his head lifted upwards to that he might talk to Grimsby on the floor above him. But, as soon as those familiar waves of red hair entered his peripheral vision, he lowered his gaze, his posture becoming noticeably more relaxed as he realised that Carlotta had been right all along. In only a dozen strides he was beside his young love, he arms enveloping her and his chin resting upon her head, her being the perfect height for him to do so without putting any thought into it at all.

"Are you alright?" he asked, stepping back and taking Ariel's hands in his own.

The former mermaid nodded, lifting her pupils to meets Eric's but keeping her head still so that she may feel steadier.

"I'm alright; I was just watching the sunrise, I didn't mean to cause a fuss. Oh! Eric you should have seen it, it was so beautiful."

There was an unmistakable weariness in Ariel's voice that Eric picked up on immediately, and the way she held herself seemed much more rigid today, as though she were fighting to stay completely still. His eyebrows knitted together as he gently lifted her head with his index finger, their eyes meeting and his suspicions being confirmed; Ariel was exhausted. Panic flared through the Prince for a second as he recalled what had happened to him only weeks ago when he had felt the same thing, and wondered whether she would be more willing than he to speak up about it. Although, judging by her answer to his previous question he quickly assumed not.

He couldn't help but smile at the wonderment of the former mermaid, the way I which she perceived the world had caused him to look at it in such a way that he never had before, and to see beauty in the most ordinary things.

"I'll take your word for it" he chuckled, pressing his lips momentarily to her forehead and causing her to smile.

"Can we go into town today?" she asked. "I saw them all setting up the market and there are always such wonderful things there. Please, just to look at them?"

Had Ariel been born a human she likely wouldn't have mention that fact that her only desire was to _see_ what was in the market, but since her first three days with Eric she had learnt that the way in which you obtained treasures here was much different to how it was done in Atlantica. Under the sea the merfolk traded items, you couldn't get something without having something to offer in return that was of interest to the person you wished to trade with. That's why Ariel never donned hair accessories like her sisters did, she had traded just about all of them over the years, acquiring things to add to her collection of human items.

But here, on land, it was very different. The humans used little silver disks to acquire what they desired, and the number of silver disks – coins, as Eric had taught her – you needed depended on the worth of what it was you wanted to buy. Each coin had a number on it, and in order to buy items you had to add these numbers together until you reached the price of the thing that you wanted, whereupon you would hand over the coins to the owner of the shop, and they would hand some back if you had gotten it wrong. This was something that Ariel had trouble with, and almost every time she would give the wrong amount. Eric had later taught her that these coins she got in return were called 'change' and that sometimes it was impossible to give exactly the right amount with what you had, in which case the shop owner would give you back the excess. It still baffled her now, there was just so much to learn that sometimes it overwhelmed her.

Anyway, this was the reason that she didn't like to ask for anything when she went out with Eric. She knew these coins to be of value, and she had come with none when she moved into the palace, so Eric would always buy things for her, claiming that he had more money than he knew what to do with and so it didn't matter if she wanted something, he would happily buy it for her. Still, she felt guilty every time he spent money on things for her, and she so wanted to buy things for him in return, but that would mean using his money to do so.

Seeing her face contort with what appeared to be confusion, Eric lifted her head again, capturing her lips in a tender kiss and feeling her relax considerably, though still she seemed to be making an effort to hold herself straighter.

Given her excitement and her eagerness to be outside, Eric began to wonder whether had had been mistaken with regards to his love's weariness, for she had seemed so much like herself, with no hint of what he thought had been there only moments before. But now, given her posture, it seemed that, whether she would admit to it or not, he had been right.

"I have a better idea" he said, supporting Ariel as she slumped against him, much to the alarm of Carlotta, who stepped forward quickly and took Ariel's arm.

"Why don't you go and get some sleep?" suggested Eric, tucking a lose strand of Ariel's hair behind her ear.

The formed mermaid looked up at her Prince as though he'd just suggested they went fishing and she frantically shook her head, tears welling in her eyes as she gripped Eric's shoulders, half out of a desire to be with him and half to keep herself from falling. Upon realising this, Eric gripped her forearm and led her swiftly to a nearby chaise, pushing her down gently and sitting beside her, his arm looped across her shoulders all the while.

"Ariel, you're exhausted darling, you can barely stay upright, and I'd hate for you to get hurt."

Again Ariel just shook her head, pressing herself closer to Eric. "But I want to be with you" she replied, emotion choking her, "I get so lonely at night Eric, don't make me spend the day in the same way, please."

She'd never admitted to this before, not wanting to seem ungrateful given everything that Eric, and Carlotta and Grimsby as well, had done to make her feel welcome in their home. But the thought of missing out on a day with Eric was almost too much for her to bare. Even in sleep she missed him, being able to sense that he wasn't there beside her. She'd lost count of how many hours she'd spent sat in her room waiting for the sun to rise so that she could see him again.

Hearing Ariel so close to tears threatened to tear Eric's heart in two; she had left behind everything she knew in order to be with him, and there was no way that he was going to let her life here be anything but happy. He'd altered the sleeping arrangements so that Ariel now slept in the room next to his, but that was as much as he'd been able to get away with given Grimsby's views, which Eric considered to be old fashioned but for the most part abided by anyway.

"Ariel, you don't ever have to feel lonely, I'm only next door at night, you can always come and wake me up" he said, shortly before pressing his lips to the top of her head, his strong fingers sliding easily through her hair.

"B-but, you need to s-sleep" she replied lifting her head to look Eric in the eye.

"So do you."

Eric sighed, cupping Ariel's tired face in his hands and brushing his thumbs gently across her cheeks and dismissing the tears that lingered there. He wanted to spend the day with Ariel, of course he did, but he wouldn't be able to live with himself if she ended up in the same state as he'd been in only weeks ago, he wouldn't wish that on anyone. As much as she wanted to explore, he knew that whether she liked it or not his little mermaid needed to rest, at least for today and so, thinking quickly, he devised a plan for the day, a day that would see he and Ariel together.

"Why don't we go and continue that book?" he suggested.

Over the last couple of weeks he had been reading Ariel Thomas Hardy's 'Far from the Madding Crowd' at her request. After dinner the two of them would retreat to the library and sit before the fire, and he would read to her, taking pleasure in the wonderment that she expressed at hearing the story progress.

The young Princess thought for a moment and then nodded, liking Eric's second idea much more than his first. In her joy at the prospect of getting to spend the rest of the day with Eric, Ariel rose quickly to her feet, only to falter. Reacting quickly both Eric and Carlotta grabbed Ariel, Eric her waist and Carlotta her shoulders, keeping her from falling an uttered words of comfort as she gripped Eric's shirt with outstretched arms.

"I can't see! Eric, I can't see!" she cried her eyes widening as sudden dizziness temporarily blinded her.

"It's okay, it'll pass" Eric assured her, bringing her closer to him and holding her in a loving and protective embrace.

Sure enough her vision gradually returned to her, and the dizziness subsided, leaving her feeling just a weary as she had before. She kept her head against Eric's chest, listening to the strong beat of his heart, knowing that she was conscious so long as she could focus on it.

Only after a moment did Ariel realise that she was moving, though with an awful lot of dependency upon Eric, her legs simply following his lead as he took her through the palace and into the library. The young Prince sat heavily upon the sofa, swinging his feet up before pulling Ariel down to sit beside him, letting her lie against him, her head tucked neatly in the crook of his neck.

"I love you" she whispered, taking Eric's left hand in her own.

"I love you too" replied Eric, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it before picking up the book, which lay open on the page they had reached last night, and reading aloud.

Listening to Eric's voice rumbling gently from beneath his chest, the words flowing with perfect pronunciation from the tip of his tongue, making almost impossible to guess that English was his second language. But hearing the voice of her Prince calmed Ariel, and she allowed her eyes to drift shut, her brain only working at half capacity, and she realised that Eric would probably have to read the same thing to her again tomorrow. As much as she wanted to keep up with the story, there was a point as she lay against Eric where she simply ceased trying to battle her weariness, and drifted silently to sleep, contempt in the knowledge that she was safe and very much loved.


End file.
